How to avoid or remove Mac Defender malware — A recent phishing scam has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus. The user is then offered Mac Defender “anti-virus” software to solve the issue.

Google to Unveil Mobile Payments Platform — Google Inc. on Thursday is expected to disclose details about how consumers will be able to make store purchases, redeem coupons, and get loyalty points by waving Android-powered smartphones in front of a small reader at the checkout counter, said people familiar with the matter.

Exclusive: Zynga About to File for IPO — Zynga is poised to file for its initial public offering, according to sources close to the situation. — The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission could come as early as this week, or next week at the latest.

Reed Elsevier Leads $6M Investment in GigaOM — Reed Elsevier Ventures — the London-based venture arm of Reed Elsevier, one of the largest publishing companies — is leading a $6 million investment in the parent company behind GigaOM, GigaOM.tv, GigaOM Events and GigaOM Pro.

Russian forensic experts break iOS 4 encryption — Apple has worked hard to gain the trust of its smartphone users, introducing a number of tighter security measures on its iPhone OS. But a crack team from Russia has found a way to circumvent Apple's iOS force field, though …

Sony says hacker stole 2,000 records from Canadian site — IDG News Service - The problems keep coming for Sony. On Tuesday the company confirmed that someone had hacked into its website and stolen about 2,000 customer names and e-mail addresses. — Close to 1,000 of the records …

Why email is crucial to Google, Microsoft and Yahoo — Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. These three companies rule webmail with Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo Mail, the three largest email services on the Internet. — What might escape a lot of people, though, is just how important email services …

How Tech Legend Bill Gross Blew The TweetDeck Deal — With today's news that Twitter has acquired TweetDeck for ~$40 million, it has become clear: UberMedia's Bill Gross - the Bill Gross who's famous for inventing search advertising as we know it - seems to have blown it this time around.

Apple MacBooks top all Consumer Reports laptop categories — If you were wondering how good Apple's MacBook line of portable computers are, the answer is simple — they are the top computer every category on Consumer Reports. — Apple's 11-inch MacBook Air scored a 62 out of 100 taking the top spot in the small laptop section.

Microsoft backpedals from Ballmer's Windows 8 comments — One analyst, betting on late 2012, early 2013 release, says Microsoft has “one chance” to get next version of Windows right — Microsoft backed away from comments made yesterday by CEO Steve Ballmer, who had told Japanese software developers …